To Change Time
by castlesfringe
Summary: Beckett and Castle get called out on a case but as it turns out, it is far more serious than their standard, run of the mill murder. 'This building must be quarantined immediately. No one goes in or out.' Kate's eyes darted back to where the man now lay dead on the floor. Fear crept in. Her partner was still inside. AU
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: no in****_fringe_****ment intended.. just needed a creative outlet. **

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"What do you mean it's no longer any of our concern?"

Though her partner's eyes widened, the woman herself did not seem to be the least bit surprised- or ruffled- by her hostility.

"Listen, Detective-" she paused, realizing she hadn't caught her name after all.

"Beckett."

Kate held the woman's gaze a second or two longer before reluctantly turning to address her Captain. Her cross features softened, the relief washing over her.

"Can you please explain to these _federal agents_ that this homicide is hardly in their jurisdiction?"

She turned back to the two in question. Her eyes narrowed as she took in their casual interest. Kate had expected them to become flustered as many who came up against her often did. Instead, the blonde reached out a hand, the picture of diplomacy and respect.

"Sir," she said politely as she shook his hand. "I'm Agent Dunham and this is my partner, Peter. If you'll just take a look at the papers," she said, nodding towards the folded papers in Kate's hand, "you'll see that we are in fact able to claim jurisdiction over this homicide."

Captain Montgomery said nothing as he took the papers from Kate and began reading them over. His eyes skimmed through the bureaucratic bullshit and jumped straight to the signature at the bottom.

"Broyles," he huffed with a shake of his head. "Always knew his days of causing me trouble were far from over."

He handed the papers back to the agent.

"Alright, everybody," his booming voice carried, catching everyone's attention immediately. "Pack it up. This case has officially been turned over to the FBI."

There were groans of annoyance and half mumbled curses as the CSU began clearing out. Kate looked up at her superior, mouth agape in abject confusion. It was unlike him to not back up his detectives, even when up against other agencies. This was hardly the first jurisdictional dispute. And those papers had been complete and utter bull.

"Dunham, was it?" He asked, garnering a nod from the agent. "Pass on my greetings to Phillip, would you? Tell him next time his division takes over one of my cases, I expect him to do so personally.. the least he could do is show his ugly mug."

The agent laughed, which only further incensed Kate. Montgomery lingered a few minutes longer before he took his leave.

"Beckett, I expect you back at the precinct shortly. Try not to be too difficult, they're just doin' their job, same as you."

Her lips drew back in a tight line of acknowledgement before turning back to the agent and her partner. She planned on sharing what little she'd managed to gather before their arrival as quickly as she could.

"Listen, Detective Beckett. It's not anything personal-"

"Of course it's not."

Dunham's lips pursed, the beginnings of irritation over this detective's steely and unforgiving demeanor started to show.

"Please understand that I wouldn't have been called on this case if it weren't of the utmost importance."

"Oh, I understand. But I'm curious.. how exactly does this case fall under your jurisdiction? The papers you gave were a little.." she trailed off, chewing on the word. "Unclear."

"I'm not at liberty discuss in any greater detail than what was mentioned in the papers."

"Not at liberty.." Kate shook her head. "It's a homicide. Run of the mill. The victim isn't high profile- I checked- I cannot think of a single reason the FBI would have any interest-"

"Hey, you can't be touching-"

Both women turned to Peter who was jogging towards the dead body- and the man crouched over it.

Kate tilted her head back, sighing heavily.

"Castle!"

He jumped, not unlike a child caught doing something they know they shouldn't be. He hastily stood up and gave Kate a sheepish look.

"Sorry, I-"

A phone rang and as Peter answered it, Castle dropped his voice.

"I was just looking at the body, Kate. This one's gonna be a good one."

"Too bad it's not ours," she grumbled.

"What?!"

Kate's brows furrowed. "Yeah, where've you been? Didn't you hear Montgomery?"

"Oh, that the FBI is taking it over? Yeah, but I guess I assumed we'd still be assisting in the investigation.."

"I wish I could allow that."

Castle turned to look at who had spoken, doing a double take. "Who's she?" Castle asked, pointing a thumb at Dunham.

"That is Agent Dunham. She and her team are the one's taking over."

Castle's head nodded in understanding. He sized her up, trying to work out the best angle to weasel their way in.

"Your reputation precedes you Mr. Castle," she said with a small smile. "You may have been able to weasel your way onto a homicide squad as a consult. But that'll hardly fly here."

Castle frowned. Apparently she was as good at reading people as he thought himself to be. "Well, how come he gets special access?" He jutted his chin in Peter's direction.

"I'm not sure I understand.."

"He's like me, isn't he? He doesn't have a fancy title, just 'Peter.' He's not carrying a sidearm..He's a civilian, consulting on cases, just like me… only his are FBI and mine are just with the NYPD."

Before she had a chance to, Peter answered for her. "That would be due to my near genius level IQ," Peter said lightly, sliding his phone into his jacket pocket as he rejoined the conversation.

Kate rolled her eyes, gently nudging Castle's arm in an attempt to start herding him towards the door.

"That was Astrid. She and Walter are on their way. He wants to know if you've gotten a chance to speak with the people who witnessed the incident?"

Kate stilled. "There was one other person in the elevator with him at the time."

Agent Dunham and Peter turned to face Kate, waiting until she finished to ask a couple follow up questions.

Nodding her head slowly as the pieces started coming together, Agent Dunham thanked her for her help.

Rick looked at his partner, whose mouth hung slightly agape. He watched her carefully, knowing she wouldn't take the cool dismissal very well.

"Didn't you want me to fill you in on what the others I interviewed had to say?"

Agent Dunham looked up from her hushed conversation with Peter.

"I'll call you if I have any further questions. Thank you for your help today, Detective."

Kate's jaw clenched and she turned on her heel, Castle trailing behind her.

As they walked down the stairwell, Castle's excitement boiled over while Kate's quiet discontent simmered.

"You gotta admit, Kate. This one was a weird one. Did you hear what the eyewitnesses were saying? He sprayed blood before he died. Sprayed, Kate! Like, those lizards from that animal special we watched on tv the other night!"

Kate couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm. Only Castle could get jazzed up about murder.

"I'm sure it was just an exaggeration, Castle. When has anyone ever _sprayed _blood? Besides, it doesn't matter now. We're not on the case."

Her tone bordered on bitter and Castle knew it would be best to let it go. He changed the subject, hoping to lighten her mood.

"So, if we're not on the case does that mean you'll have normal people hours?"

"Normal people hours?" She scoffed. "What does that even _mean_?"

"That you'll have time for something other than work for a change."

Castle smiled and Kate was unable to resist a small smile of her own.

"So you want to do something later? Maybe we can go out and grab a bite, maybe even a show after?"

"Oh, I don't know, Castle. On my nights off, I don't really care to go out an-"

"Or," he quickly interrupted, "_Or,_ we could order in, that works just as well. Quiet night in sounds just as good."

"But, don't you have that poker thing tonight? With Stephen King and all your other big shot writer friends?"

Castle waved a hand. "I'll just call them and tell them something else came up."

He started patting down his pockets, feeling for his phone. He came to a complete stop, halting at the top of the last flight of stairs down to the lobby. Kate glanced over her shoulder, noticing he was no longer following.

"What is it?"

"I can't.." he trailed off, checking his pants pockets and then his coat one more time,"find my phone."

He looked up, eyebrows drawn in consternation. He tried to think of the last time he used it.

"Do you know that you even had it to begin with?" Kate asked. "Maybe you left it at home."

"No," he said slowly. "I hardly ever do that. I'm pretty sure I remember using it today."

He started to turn, pointing a thumb over his shoulder.

"I'm just going to run up real quick and see if maybe I set it down somewhere or something."

Kate nodded before saying. "I'll just head out to the car and pull it around."

She'd nearly reached the street when she was stopped by an older looking man and what appeared to be his assistant.

"I'm sorry?" Kate had been in another world, imagining what her and Rick's night looked like later, that she didn't realize the man had been speaking to her.

"Uh, yes, I'm Dr. Bishop and this is my assistant Astro-"

"_Astrid," _the young woman corrected.

"Yes, right, right. We were called in-"

"For the case," Kate finished, attempting to hurry along the exchange.

"Right, for the case!"

"Yeah, well, you're in the right place. Right inside this building, up that flight of stairs," Kate pointed as she directed them.

After thanking her, the man then asked, "And, and were you then the one first called to the scene?"

"I was," she answered with a nod. "I'm Detective Beckett, NYPD, homicide division."

"And might you tell us what exactly it was you came across when you arrived?"

Kate looked at him, wondering if he could not wait to ask his own people once he got up the however many floors.. She was, after all, booted from the case. Kate gave a small sigh as she looked in the building hoping to see Rick.

Figuring it would be a perfectly fine way to kill time until he returned, Kate turned back to Dr. Bishop and Astrid.

"Victim was male, age 50. Walked into Vitas Petrol this morning about 7 this morning. Preliminary findings from the ME suggest ruptured veins-"

"Oohh, I see!"

Kate gave him a look, not understanding his enthusiasm.

"Vasculitis could be a cause.. O-Or an arterial fistula which is an abnormal channel between the vessels, and extremely high blood pressure results, resulting in swelling of the veins-"

"Until they rupture?" Astrid asked.

"Well, no.. Not usually," Walter said.

Kate looked between the two of them who exchanged theories, now feeling completely invisible.

"Yeah, well, good luck with that." Kate said, reaching to pull the door open for a man trying to exit the building.

She assumed they must have already questioned him or cleared him to go, but he didn't look so good. His face was covered in sweat and his skin was extremely pale. His nose was bleeding. Kate was about to pull the door open to ask if he required medical attention but Dr. Bishop pushed the door firmly shut. Kate was about to ask what he thought he was doing, the man clearly needed help, but the words died on her tongue.

They watched in horror as the veins in his face bulged and it looked like he was going to throw up. Instead of bile, there was blood. The spray of blood coated the glass door and Kate's instinctively yanked her hand away from the glass. She looked at the doctor for some sort of explanation, only to find his face bore a grim expression.

"This building must be quarantined immediately. No one goes in or out."

Kate's eyes darted back to where the man now lay dead on the floor. Fear crept in.

_Castle. _


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Don't own it**

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Kate was momentarily distracted from the overwhelming panic when her phone started to vibrate. She pulled it from her coat pocket only to see that it was Rick calling. Her eyes lifted from the screen to search the lobby. And there he was, standing at the top of the stairs.

She quickly pressed the green button and held it up to her ear.

"Look who found their phone."

She smiled weakly at his joking tone. Her mouth was dry and her chest felt tight. She watched him carefully as the forced smile on his face fell away and his tone sobered.

"So I guess this means I'm not coming out anytime soon, huh?"

She shook her head slowly as she looked at the man stood beside her.

"They think it's a possible contagion. The CDC's been notified."

The line went quiet. If Kate didn't have a clear view of Castle still standing there with the phone to his ear, she'd have thought he had hung up.

"Castle," the lump forming in the back of her throat made the words feel thick and clumsy. "I'm going to get you out of there."

"I know you will," he said softly. He just didn't know if it meant alive. "Do you recognize the second victim?"

She craned her head to try to get a better look at the man's profile.

"The courier?"

"Yeah, he's the guy who rode up in the elevator with our first victim. You think it's spread through close contact?"

Before she could answer, Dr. Bishop leaned in closely, his face inches from her own.

"Tell him- tell him we have no way of ascertaining as of yet whether it's spread through contact or if it's airborne-"

"Did you hear that?" Kate asked as she took a step back in an attempt to reestablish her personal space. Dr. Bishop only leaned in closer to the receiver.

"And- and tell Peter and Olivia I need to know more about the first victim. If I can find out where he came from, where he was, then I can begin to ascertain what infected him."

Dr. Bishop was gently pulled away by his assistant and Kate gave a grateful smile. She looked back through the glass at Castle.

"Well, I _did_ say I wanted in on this case.."

His attempt at a joke fell flat and Kate didn't even have the willpower to fake a smile.

"See what you can do to help. I'll do what I can out here."

As he was pulling the phone away from his ear, Kate said quickly "And Castle?"

The line went dead and her heart sank. He'd hung up. He gave her one final wave before turning and disappearing around a corner.

xx

Rick exited the elevator, taking in what was sure to be temporary order. It appeared as though Peter and Agent Dunham had separated the remaining people into two groups based on, if he had to guess, those in close contact with the two victims and those who weren't.

There was the quiet murmur of anxious chatter as the people talked amongst themselves, casting furtive glances at the other group. Not very many gave him a second glance. He found Peter and Agent Dunham standing off to the side talking to one of the employees. It was Peter who noticed him first, interrupting Olivia's question.

"What'd you forget this time? You know, no matter how many times you keep coming back, the answer's still going to be no. Even if we wanted to, we can't let you assist a federal investigation," he teased.

Rick gave him a half smile and did his best to look unperturbed.

"Well, Peter, I'm afraid it looks like you don't have much of a choice."

Peter cocked his head in question and Rick nodded his head to the side.

"Can I speak to you and Agent Dunham in private for a moment?"

Though his tone had been kept soft and purposefully light, a couple of people looked up. He tried to temporarily ease their suspicion with a smile as Agent Dunham excused herself from the conversation with the employee.

The three of them stepped into an office and Rick shut the door.

"The CDC is here. The building's quarantined, no one comes in and no one goes out."

"How do you know this?" Agent Dunham asked, glancing at Peter.

"You remember the courier? The guy who tried to resuscitate the first victim before he had died?"

Both Peter and Agent Dunham nodded slowly and Rick went on.

"He's dead."

"What?"

"How?"

Neither of them had even noticed he'd disappeared.

"Same as the first guy. Ruptured veins, bloody nose.. I watched him spray blood on the front door. Whatever the first victim had, it's likely we all have it now."

Agent Dunham's eyebrows knitted in thought.

"But what about your partner? What about Detective Beckett and the others first on scene?"

Rick shrugged.

"CDC'll no doubt check them out to be sure.. But if it's not spread through contact, what if it's prolonged exposure or-"

"If it's airborne," Peter finished.

Rick nodded.

"There's a guy out there with Beckett who thinks he'll be able to figure out precisely what we're dealing with if we can figure out who exactly the first victim is and where he's been."

"Who-" Agent Dunham started to ask.

"It's probably Walter. He and Astrid were on their way, remember?"

"What'd he look like?" He asked, turning back to Rick.

"Uh, I don't-" Rick stopped and thought. "Older, salt and pepper hair.." He remembered him leaning in to talk on Kate's phone.

"A real problem with personal space-"

"Walter," both Agent Dunham and Peter simultaneously confirmed.

"Right, so," Rick said, rubbing his hands together. "What have you got so far?"

"The first victim was identified as Radjan Vandenkemp-"

"Vandenkemp?" Rick interrupted. "That sounds-"

"Foreign? It is. We believe he's from the Netherlands."

"What was he doing here?" Rick asked, watching as Agent Dunham stepped to the window and peered through the slatted blinds.

"We don't know. No one here claims to know the guy or what he was doing here in the first place. Olivia checked the computer for appointments and his name wasn't even in the system."

"Hm," he murmured. "That's strange. So, what? He just wandered in here for no reason? That doesn't make any sense.."

"CDC is here." Agent Dunham said, stepping away from the window. "It looks like they're getting set up. We'd better go out there and fill everyone in before they look out the window and see CDC and start to freak out."

Peter and Rick nodded in agreement, following her as she opened the door to address the people. As soon as they stepped through, they were immediately bombarded with questions.

"Why are the police holding us here?"

"We think we're in the midst of a viral contamination. The Centers for Disease Control are here-"

"Are you saying we're quarantined?" One man asked.

People began swarming the three, barking out questions and demanding answers they didn't have. Rick felt the atmosphere tense as panic continued to mount.

"Everyone, please," Rick began. "Take a breath and calm down. Please let us do our jobs. The more cooperative you are, the sooner we can figure out what it is we are dealing with and the sooner we can all go home."

The crowd quieted momentarily as everyone rallied to overcome the instinctive hysteria.

"Has anyone seen Mike?"

"Mike?" Peter asked Rick quietly.

"The courier," Rick whispered back.

Agent Dunham looked at the young secretary before bluntly stating, "He was infected."

"Is he dead?"

All movement in the room ceased. All eyes on Agent Dunham.

She gave a single nod of her head.

Immediately, people began to lose control, giving into the hysteria. Accusations started flying, people became aggressive and moved away from one another. No one knew how the sickness worked, no one knew how it spread, no one knew who was infected, but they did all know one thing.

It was a death sentence.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Don't own it.**

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"Something's not right here."

"You mean, besides the fact that we're quarantined, in the middle of an unknown and potential pandemic and have no idea where it came from?"

Rick gave Peter a dry look.

"Yes, besides the obvious."

He turned back to the computer screen.

"This is a fairly well known company. No one's going to be able to come waltzing in here without an appointment or an extremely good reason at the very least."

"Well, apparently, he did."

Rick leaned back heavily in the chair. He brought a hand to his face and rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"I don't think he did. Someone had to have known he was coming in. Think about it. Oil is a multibillion dollar industry-"

"You think it's got to do with money?" Peter asked.

"It's gotta be," Rick said, continuing to flesh out his theory. "What if he was a consultant of sorts? Trading insider knowledge for money."

"Huh," Peter folded his arms across his chest as he thought about it. It wasn't too crazy an idea.

"I'm willing to bet one of these people here is lying to cover their own ass. We just have to figure out who."

Peter stared at Rick for a moment, thinking.

"Pull up the list of appointments again."

Rick leaned forward and with a few clicks of the mouse had brought up the list.

He scrolled down until Peter told him to stop.

"There," Peter said, pointing at a name. "I remembered thinking this was a little out of the ordinary. He cancelled two appointments this morning, cleared his entire schedule. Yet, he's here."

Rick looked up at Peter. "Why would he come into work if he cleared his schedule?"

"Exactly."

There was a lull in the conversations and Rick cocked head. Peter noticed it too.

"They shut off the ventilation system."

Agent Dunham walked into the room and once again there was a clamor for the latest information. Someone asked why the airflow had been stopped.

"Just another precautionary measure. If the virus is airborne they want to limit its spread as much as possible," she explained calmly.

She caught Peter's eye and he signaled her over.

"What is it?" She asked, looking over Rick's shoulder at the computer monitor.

"Look at this guy. Had his entire schedule cleared for this morning, yet he still came in. We think it's possible he's our connection to Vandenkemp."

She cast a sidelong glance at Peter, wondering what he thought of it.

"He might have been here to sell information about a competitor."

Olivia held Peter's gaze as she appraised the theory.

"Well," she said, straightening from leaning over Rick's chair. "It would explain why he was reluctant to admit knowing who he was and why he was here. He's breaking at least a dozen federal laws."

xx

In a surprisingly short amount of time, Kate found herself in the middle of a fully operational quarantine camp. It looked and felt like something out of a sci-fi film. There were white tents and clear plastic decontamination chambers erected all around. There were people in hazmat suits hustling from one tent to another. Commands were called out and information relayed.

Kate spun around, searching the sea of people for a familiar face.

She felt her phone begin to vibrate and she clumsily dug it from her pocket. It wasn't Rick like she'd hoped it might be, and she felt a rush of disappointment and relief simultaneously. She wanted to hear his voice to know he was okay, but at the same time, she dreaded the phone call that might be to say goodbye.

"Beckett," she answered, her tone harsh, overcompensating for what she feared would be a waver.

"Where are you, Beckett? It's been over an hour, I would think that's plenty of time to give your statement and get back to the precinct."

"There was a development, sir" she hedged.

"A development?"

The line crackled as he waited.

"It's a viral contamination. The building's been quarantined."

"What? Are you- are you-"

Kate shook her head from the haze, realizing he'd misunderstood. "No, I'm fine. It's Castle."

"Castle?"

She bit her lip as she watched the bustle around her. Anything to distract her from the worry that continually tried to grip her tighter.

"He was still in the building."

There was a pregnant pause as her captain grappled with the words. He didn't know what to say, then again neither did she.

"Listen, Beckett.. If there is anything you need, _anything_ you let me know."

The lump in her throat she'd managed to swallow earlier returned.

"Thank you, Captain, but I don't think we have any resources that the FBI doesn't already have at their disposal. Two of their own are also in there, they're pulling out all the stops."

"Good. Let me know when something changes."

"Yes, sir."

With a slow, shaky exhalation she hung up the phone. She closed her eyes a took a deep breath and willed her resolve to harden.

A hand gently shook her shoulder and her eyes snapped open to find Astrid, the doctor's assistant.

"Walter's been arrested."

Astrid quickly lead her to a tent and inside Kate finds Walter being detained by two police officers much to his displeasure.

"Release him," Kate commanded.

Neither officer moved to comply and Kate bristled. She flashed her badge.

"I'm not going to ask again."

One of the officers shook his head. "He came in here demanding a dozen blood samples and claiming he was FBI. He doesn't have the credentials."

"I can vouch," Kate said.

The officers looked at each other and then at her, brows raised.

"He _is_ with the FBI and I was put under the impression he is the biggest hope we have to isolating the strain and developing a cure. Do you want to continue to hinder his ability to help save those people?" Kate demanded, pointing a finger up at the building outside.

This time they gave one another a sheepish expression as they deliberated. Finally, one of them moved to uncuff Walter.

Kate gave them a quick smile and said, "Didn't think so. Now will you two please assist Dr. Bishop in acquiring whatever it may be that he needs?"

As the two dispersed to gather what Walter had asked for, he leaned in towards Astrid.

"Ooh, I like her," he whispered.

Astrid smiled as she glanced at Kate's serious profile. Though her stoic features gave away nothing, Astrid felt the underlying tension as though it were a tangible thing. Kate could feel Astrid's eyes on her and her eyes darted to meet her gaze momentarily. She was grateful for the woman's attempt of silent support.

It went without saying they were all united by the same fear of imminent loss.

* * *

_thoughts are always appreciated! _


	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER: I most definitely don't own Caste- or Fringe**

"I-I need to get these back to my lab so that I may begin analyzing and isolating the virus.."

"Walter, your lab is in Massachusetts. We're in New York, remember?"

Walter shook his head in agitation and the vials in the box he held in his arms clinked against each other. Astrid placed a hand on his forearm in an effort to soothe him.

"It's alright, Walter. We'll just ask if they have somewhere here you can work. I'm sure they can set up something."

"No," he said firmly. "No, I _must _have my own space, access to my own instruments. I cannot work like this- you can't expect me to- to-"

He became increasingly agitated as the feeling of not having any control grew. Peter and Olivia's lives depended on him, he had to, he had to..

Kate watched the exchange with interest. She'd never met anyone like Walter. So scattered and half-crazed.

But also brilliant. She could see that. His eccentric behaviors and off the wall commentary masked his intelligence.. Why else would the FBI work so closely and place so much trust in a civilian?

Kate placed a hand on his shoulder until Walter's eyes stopped bouncing around him and focused on her.

"I think I might be able to help."

They were walking to their car when a sharply dressed man in a suit stopped them.

"Walter, Agent Farnsworth- where are you two going?"

"Oh, oh.. Well, this kind woman here has agreed to take me to a lab so that I may begin to work on identifying the virus we are dealing with," Walter said with a nearly gleeful smile.

Kate drew her shoulders back and stood straight as she felt the man's critical gaze appraise her. She reached out a hand to introduce herself.

"I'm Detective Beckett with the NYPD. I was first on scene here today and-"

"Detective," he interrupted.

Kate deflated at his interruption and whereas earlier being stonewalled had riled her up, now it made her feel beaten down.

"Though I'm appreciative of the work you do, this matter is no longer of your concern. I am grateful that you are trying to help, but I think it'd be best if you went home and let us do our jobs."

Before Kate could protest, it was Walter who came to her defense.

"Yes, but, Agent Broyles, I think that she may be of great help. I would like for her to be granted access to this case. She can assist myself and Asterisk-"

"Astrid-" the agent gently corrected.

"Right, isn't that what I said?" Walter muttered back before addressing Agent Broyles again. "She's already proved to be most valuable and with her being first on scene, perhaps she knows something that can help us begin to crack the puzzle."

The viselike grip on her chest loosened and she felt bolstered by Walter's strong show of faith. When she met Agent Broyle's gaze with a determined look, she saw that though he was no longer closed to the idea, he wasn't convinced either.

As she was about to reason with him, Astrid spoke up.

"Her partner's in there too, sir. We all want the same thing. I think Detective Beckett is more than aware of what's at stake and is fully committed to doing whatever needs to be done to ensure this is resolved safely, right, Detective Beckett?"

Kate looked at Astrid and was once again floored with gratitude. She nodded once with conviction and Agent Broyles sighed.

"Alright, Detective. Please be advised that what I expect of my agents now extends to you. You are to abide by any and all commands. We've strict regulations in place for extreme cases like this and it is in everyone's best interest that they are followed. Am I understood?"

Kate nodded her head again. "Yes, sir."

He turned to Astrid. "Agent Farnsworth, please keep me appraised of any and all developments."

"Yes, sir," she replied dutifully.

When he had walked away, Kate finally released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. She stared and Astrid and Walter for a moment.

"Thanks."

Astrid gave her a smile and Walter beamed.

"Anytime, dear Detective. Now.. shall we be going?"

They climbed into Kate's car and she was pulling out into traffic less than two minutes later, lights flashing and siren blaring.

She dug her phone from the confines of her coat pocket and held down speed dial 3. It rang and rang. _C'mon, pick up, pick up, pick up!_ She silently urged. Someone pulled out in front of her and she slammed on the breaks while laying on the horn.

She was passing them when the line finally picked up.

"Lanie! It's me," she said distractedly, looking over her shoulder before she switched lanes.

"Yes, Kate, I'm aware.. caller ID and all that," Lanie said dryly.

Completely ignoring her friend's quip, Kate said, "Listen, this is going to be a strange request but I need you to do this for me."

"Kate?" Her friend replied hesitantly. "What's up? What's going on?"

"I need you to get your people to leave the lab. I'm going to need it."

"What is all this about?"

"Please, Lanie, just do it. I'll explain everything when I get there-"

She stopped talking when she felt someone poke her shoulder. She looked in the rearview mirror to find it was Walter. He leaned over the center console.

"Tell her I will require a centrifuge, among other things… And, and tell her I would also like some RedVines.. or something equally sweet."

He sat back and smiled at Agent Farnsworth who then gave Kate a "what-can-you-do" eye roll.

"Who was that?" Lanie asked.

"You'll meet him shortly. Please, Lanie, just get the lab sorted and I will see you soon."

She looked at them both in the rearview mirror again, the question sticking obstinately to the roof of her mouth like peanut butter.

"Have either of you heard from Agent Dunham or Peter lately?"

Astrid softly shook her head, a small frown pulling the corners of her mouth down.

"No," Walter said, readjusting the box on his lab. "B-but I imagine it is likely because they are busy figuring out what the connection is between our first victim and the virus."

Kate's eyes left the rearview mirror and she swallowed hard. No news was good news.

Probably.

"We will call them after I can perform some tests on these blood samples and I have something concrete to give them, yes, Detective?"

Kate chewed on her bottom lip and lifted her reluctant eyes to the rearview mirror again, nodding her head once in agreement.

xx

"Everyone is starting to lose hope."

Peter dragged his eyes away from where Olivia was interrogating the suspected Vincent Ames to look at Rick.

"They're calling their families."

He looked up at Peter with a solemn expression. "They don't think they're going to make it out alive."

"Do you?" Peter asked.

"Are you kidding?" Rick scoffed, replacing the somber note in his voice with some of his practiced and well perfected bravado. "This is just another day in the life."

"Really?" Peter asked in surprise.

In all the cases he and Olivia had worked, he had not encountered anyone who took such extreme and, quite often, unheard of events in stride. On the one hand, Peter was sure Rick understood the gravity of the situation.. and on the other, he managed to infuse the darkness with such easy levity, it was hard to fathom.

"Okay," Rick admitted. "Super viruses? I'll admit it's a first. Life threatening bind? Ehhh.. Not so much. Beckett and I have had our fair share of near death experiences."

The corners of his mouth twitched and he nearly smiled.

"Is it hard?"

Rick looked at Peter, not understanding. "Is what hard?"

"Not having your partner here?"

"Not any harder than I imagine it would be to actually have her here to worry about."

Rick looked at Olivia and then back again at Peter, knowing full well the hell Peter was in knowing she had been or was in the process of being exposed to an incurable virus. That inability to protect the one you loved brought only anguish and regret.

Realizing he had effectively doused whatever humor he had introduced, Rick shifted gears.

"What about you? Can't imagine even the FBI having worked any weirder cases than this, a mysterious and ever elusive virus?"

Peter started to laugh but then quickly covered it up with coughs. His laughter had gotten him some looks- a mixture between curiosity and agitation that reminded him now was probably not the time nor the place.

"It's intriguing, I'll give you that.. But weird?" Peter shook his head. "Not compared to most of the cases we work."

Rick frowned, puzzled. Peter shrugged his shoulders while he fiddled with a paperweight on the desk. "It's a virus. It's… biological.. To a certain degree, we understand how they work, how they behave, sometimes not until it's too late, but there is always a logical, scientific explanation."

"And your other cases? They can't be explained by logic and reason?"

Peter looked up. "Not always."

For the first time since he figured out he was in the middle of a viral contamination, Rick forgot all about the virus and Vandenkemp and facing his mortality. His imagination began to cloud out all other thought as his mind leapt at all the possibilities Peter's ambiguous comment incited.

"What kind of cases? Aliens? Time travel? Human experiments?" Rick snapped his fingers. "The paranormal! Psychic phenomenon?"

Rick leaned forward, now on the edge of his chair as he really started to get into it. Kate never let him get this far in his wild tangents of thought.

"Well, you were right."

Both Peter and Rick jumped to the doorway where Olivia now stood. She quietly eased the door behind her. Peter glanced back at Rick who now wore a frown and appeared as though his momentary bubble of happy distraction had popped.

"Tell you what, Rick. We make it outta here, Olivia and I will tell you all about it."

Olivia regarded the two with a faint curiosity before deciding that whatever they'd been discussing didn't matter as much as what she had found out- or hadn't.

"Vandenkemp _was _a consultant. He was here to sell information regarding a competitor."

"Who was the competitor?" Rick asked.

Olivia shrugged her shoulders. "Ames said he didn't know. All Vandenkemp told him was he had something valuable in his possession, it had something to do with a recent oil reserve discovery."

"Does he know what it was exactly?"

Olivia shook her head. "And whatever it was, he didn't bring it in with him. He had no bag, no briefcase.. We don't have anything."

Peter squeezed his eyes shut and dragged a hand down his face in frustration.

"Uh- guys.."

Olivia dragged her eyes off Peter and they both look over a Rick.

"I think we have a problem."

They followed his gaze out of the office window to find the secretary watching them. Her skin was pale and there was a light sheen of sweat. She cradled her arms while staring through the window. Though her eyes were dull and she seemed dazed, there was an unmistakable look of fear as she slowly brought up a hand to touch her nose. When she pulled it away, her fingers were stained bright red with blood.

xx


End file.
